• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.315-322
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• 2011

We investigated the effect of Pb uptake by Pinus densiflora and the Pb fraction in forest soil. We also investigated the change in soil physicochemical characteristics, microbial activity, and root exudates of Pinus densiflora in Pb-contaminated soils. Three-year-old pine seedlings were exposed to 500 mg/kg Pb for 12 months. The metal fractions were measured using sequential extraction procedures. Additionally, factors that affect solubility (three soil enzyme activities and amino acids of root exudate compounds) were also determined. The results showed that Pb contamination significantly decreased enzyme activities due to soil characteristics. In addition, organic matter, nitrate content, and Pb concentration were time dependent. The results indicate that changes in the Pb fraction affected Pb uptake by pine trees due to an increase in the exchangeable Pb fraction. The concentrations of organic acids were higher in Pb-spiked soil than those in control soil. Higher rhizosphere concentrations of oxalic acid resulted in increased Pb uptake from the soil. These results suggest that pine trees can change soil properties using root exudates due to differences in the metal fraction.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2020

We studied the on-site treatment of soil contaminated by heavy metals and petroleum was tested using relocatable soil washing equipment for greater remediation efficiency. Different combinations of pH and solid/liquid ratio were tested to determine the optimum balance, settling on values of 5 and 1:2, respectively. Next, soils containing Pb, Hg, and petroleum were further tested to assess the optimum number of washing cycles. The remediation efficiency of Pb and Hg in soil contaminated solely by heavy metals was 90.1% and 86.4% after three and two washings, respectively. The remediation efficiency of petroleum in soil contaminated solely by petroleum was 98.8% after one washing. When soil contaminated by both heavy metals and petroleum was cleaned, up to 91.0% of Pb, 86.9% of Hg, and 96.1% of petroleum was removed after two, one, and one washings, respectively. We conducted all remediation efficiencies and concentration reductions satisfied the standard threshold for soil contamination in South Korea.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.221-227
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• 2013

A risk assessment of environmental media was performed for the inhabitants in the area of the abandoned Nokdong metal mine. Soil, groundwater, and crop samples were collected from September to October 2008 around the mine. After pretreatment of these samples, metal concentrations were measured, and a risk assessment was performed using the Korean soil-contamination risk assessment guidelines. Lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) intake rates were the highest for inhalation of soil dust. The cancer risks from ingestion of As-contaminated groundwater, inhalation of As-, Cd-, and Pb-contaminated soils, and contact of As-contaminated soils exceeded the acceptable risk. The sum of all carcinogenic risks was $9.29{\times}10^{-3}$. The non-carcinogenic risk was highest for ingestion of As-contaminated water (11.0), followed, in descending order, by inhalation of Hg-contaminated soil and ingestion of Pb-contaminated water. Most of the risks were associated with As, Cd, Pb, and Hg contamination, and therefore, these metals were considered to be potential toxic carcinogens and non-carcinogens for humans in this area. In this study, the non-carcinogenic risks of ingestion of contaminated water or crops, as well as those associated with the inhalation of soil dust were observed.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.9-19
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• 2021

This study evaluated the feasibility of combined use of physical separation and soil washing to remediate heavy metals (Pb and Cu) contaminated soil in a military shooting range. The soils were classified into two types based on the level of heavy metal concentrations: a higher contaminated soil (HCS) with Pb and Cu concentrations of 6,243 mg/kg and 407 mg/kg, respectively, and a lower contaminated soil (LCS) with their concentrations of 1,658 mg/kg and 232 mg/kg. Pb level in both soils exceeded the regulatory limit (700 mg/kg), and its concentration generally increased with decreasing soil particle size. However, in some cases, Pb concentrations increased with increasing soil particle size, presumably due to the presence of residues of bullets in the soil matrix. As a pretreatment step, a shaking table was used for physical separation of soil to remove bullet residues while fractionating the contaminated soils into different sizes. The most effective separation and fractionation were achieved at vibration velocity of 296 rpm/min, the table slope of 7.0°, and the separating water flow rate of 23 L/min. The efficiency of ensuing soil washing process for LCS was maximized by using 0.5% HCl with the soil:washing solution mixing ratio of 1:3 for 1 hr treatment. On the contrary, HCS was most effectively remediated by using 1.0% HCl with the same soil:solution mixing ratio for 3 hr. This work demonstrated that the combined use of physical separation and soil washing could be a viable option to remediate soils highly contaminated with heavy metals.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.17-22
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• 2007

The feasibility of soil washing was investigated to remediate Pb-contaminated field soil. Hydrochloric acid was used as a washing agent. As mixing time increased from 5 min to 120 min, removal efficiency of Pb from contaminated soil increased from 69.3% to 81.9%. Two times washing with 0.2 M HCl showed 96% removal efficiency even at mixing time of 10 min. The Pb content in soil increased sharply as particle size of soil decreased, and removal efficiency was highly dependent on mixing time and temperature. Based on this result, acid washing technologies can be applied to remediate the Pb-contaminated soil used in this study.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.244-247
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• 2012

To remediate lead (Pb)-contaminated soils, it is proposed that microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) would provide the best alternative to other remediation technologies. In this study, Pb bioremediation in soils was investigated using the calcite-precipitating bacterium Kocuria flava. Results indicate that the Pb is primarily associated with the carbonate fraction in bioremediated soil samples. The bioavailability of Pb in contaminated soil was reduced so that the potential stress of Pb was alleviated. This research provides insight into the geochemistry occurring in the MICP-based Pb-remediated soils, which will help in remediation decisions.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.145-150
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• 2012

Pb-contaminated soil at a clay shooting range was analyzed by the sequential extraction method to identify metal binding properties in terms of detrital and non-detrital forms of the soil. Most of the metals in the soils existed as non-detrital forms, exchangeable and carbonate-bound forms, which could be easily released from the soil by a washing method. Therefore, the characteristics of Pb desorption for remediation of the Pb-contaminated soil were evaluated using hydrochloric acid (HCl) by a washing method. Batch experiments were performed to identify the factors influencing extraction efficiency. The effects of the solid to liquid (S/L) ratio (1:2, 1:3, and 1:4), soil particle size, and extraction time on the removal capacity of Pb by HCl were evaluated. Soil samples were collected from two different areas: a slope area (SA) and a land area (LA) at the field. As results, the optimal conditions at 2.8 to 0.075 mm of particle size were 1:3 of the S/L ratio and 10 min of extraction time for SA, and 1:4 of the S/L ratio and 5 min of extraction time for LA. The characteristics of Pb desorption were adequately described by two-reaction kinetic models.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

Electrokinetic technology was applied to remediate Cu, Pb and As-contaminated paddy soil. Removal of metal is highly dependent on the processing fluid during electrokinetic treatment. Tap water, NaOH, $HNO_3$, $Na_2EDTA$, and citric acid were evaluated as the processing fluids to enhance metal removal. Cu and Pb were transported toward cathode, however, it did not removed from soil section, while 56.6% of As was removed at a acidic condition. The strong acidic condition with nitric acid as a processing fluid enhanced the desoprtion of As from soil surface. However, longer operation time is needed to get the higher removal of Cu and Pb, and the acidification of soil after electrokinetic treatment should be solved.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.1156-1167
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize lead (Pb)-solubilizing bacteria from heavy metal-contaminated mine soils and to evaluate their inoculation effects on the growth and Pb absorption of Brassica juncea. The isolates were also evaluated for their plant growth-promoting characteristics as well as heavy metal and salt tolerance. A total of 171 Pb-tolerant isolates were identified, of which only 15 bacterial strains were able to produce clear haloes in solid medium containing PbO or $PbCO_3$, indicating Pb solubilization. All of these 15 strains were also able to dissolve the Pb minerals in a liquid medium, which was accompanied by significant decreases in pH values of the medium. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the Pb-solubilizing strains belonged to genera Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Brevibacterium, and Staphylococcus. A majority of the Pb-solubilizing strains were able to produce indole acetic acid and siderophores to different extents. Two of the Pb-solubilizing isolates were able to solubilize inorganic phosphate as well. Some of the strains displayed tolerance to different heavy metals and to salt stress and were able to grow in a wide pH range. Inoculation with two selected Pb-solubilizing and plant growth-promoting strains, (i.e., Brevibacterium frigoritolerans YSP40 and Bacillus paralicheniformis YSP151) and their consortium enhanced the growth and Pb uptake of B. juncea plants grown in a metal-contaminated soil. The bacterial strains isolated in this study are promising candidates to develop novel microbe-assisted phytoremediation strategies for metal-contaminated soils.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.223-229
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• 2020

The application of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) supports the growth of plants in contaminated soil while ureolytic bacteria can immobilise heavy metals by carbonate precipitation. Thus, dual treatment with such bacteria may be beneficial for plant growth and bioremediation in contaminated soil. This study aimed to determine whether the PGPR Pseudomonas fluorescens could work in synergy with ureolytic bacteria to assist with the remediation of cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-contaminated soils. Pot experiments were conducted to grow radish plants in Cd- and Pb-contaminated soils treated with PGPR P. fluorescens and the results were compared with dual inoculation of P. fluorescens combined with ureolytic Staphylococcus epidermidis HJ2. The removal rate of the metals from the soil was more than 83% for Cd and Pb by the combined treatment compared to 17% by PGPR alone. Further, the dual treatment reduced the metal accumulation in the roots by more than 80%. The translocation factors for Cd and Pb in plant tissues in both treatments remained the same, suggesting that PGPR combined with the carbonate precipitation process does not hamper the transfer of essential metal ions into plant tissues from the soil.